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Winthrop Fleet
The Winthrop Fleet of 1630 (an early part of the Great Migration) was the largest fleet ever assembled to carry Englishmen overseas to a new homeland. It was a well planned and financed expedition comprising eleven ships that carried 700 immigrants from England to the Massachusetts Bay Colony. The group, led by Governor John Winthrop, sailed from April to July of 1630. The fleet landed at Salem. Of the 700 on board, 200 died during the voyage, and 100 returned to England soon after arrival. Some of the 400 remaining settlers stayed in Salem, but many moved on to Boston, Watertown, or other settlements. * See also Immigrant Ships To America/First Families/Winthrop Fleet * Winthrop Fleet Passenger List - 700 passengers The Winthrop Fleet was a group of 11 ships led by John Winthrop which carried about 1,000 Puritans plus livestock and provisions from England to New England over the summer of 1630, during the period of the Great Migration. Most notable group of Immigrant Ships of New England. Motivation The Puritan population in England had been growing for several years leading up to this time. The Puritans disagreed with the practices of the Church of England, whose rituals they viewed as superstitions. An associated political movement attempted over many years to modify religious practice in England to conform to their views. King James I wished to suppress this growing rebellious movement. Nevertheless, the Puritans eventually gained a majority in Parliament. James' son Charles came into direct conflict with Parliament, and viewed them as a threat to his authority. He temporarily dissolved parliament in 1626, and again the next year, before dissolving parliament permanently in March 1629. The King's imposition of Personal Rule gave many Puritans a sense of hopelessness regarding their future in that country, and many prepared to leave it permanently for life in New England. Motivated by these political events, a wealthy group of leaders obtained a Royal Charter in March 1629 for a colony at Massachusetts Bay. A fleet of five ships had departed a month previously for New England that included approximately 300 colonists, led by Francis Higginson. However, the colony leaders and the bulk of the colonists remained in England for the time being, to plan more thoroughly for the success of the new colony. Later that year, the group who remained in England elected John Winthrop to be Governor of the Fleet and the Colony. Over the ensuing winter, the leaders recruited a large group of Puritan families, representing all manner of skilled labor, to ensure a robust colony. Voyage The initial group (Arbella and her three escorts) reprint of original 1930 edition. departed Yarmouth, Isle of Wight on April 8, Second publication of the original text of John Winthrop's journal. the remainder following in two or three weeks. Seven hundred men, women, and children were distributed among the ships of the fleet. . In a letter to his wife, Winthrop himself put the number of passengers at 700 persons, 240 cows, and 60 horses. The voyage itself was rather uneventful, the direction and speed of the wind being the main topic in Winthrop's journal, as it affected how much progress was made each day. There were a few days of severe weather, and every day was cold. The children were cold and bored, and there is a description of a game played with a rope that helped with both problems. Many were sick during the voyage. The Winthrop Fleet was a well-planned and financed expedition that formed the nucleus of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. However they were not the first settlers of the area. There was an existing settlement at Salem, started in about 1626, populated by a few hundred Puritans, most of whom had arrived in 1629, and who were governed by John Endicott. Winthrop superseded Endicott as Governor of the Colony upon his arrival in 1630.While the Plymouth Colony preceded both Winthrop and Endicott, they maintained their own system of government and did not fall under the charter of the Massachusetts Bay Colony at this point in time. The flow of Puritans to New England continued for another ten years, during a period known as the Great Migration. Ships Winthrop's journal lists the eleven ships that were in his fleet: * Arabella: The flagship, designated 'Admiral' in the consortship; named for Lady Arabella, wife of Isaac Johnson (see below). * Talbot: Designated 'Vice Admiral'. Henry Winthrop, John Winthrop's son and first husband of Elizabeth Fones, sailed on this ship.Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, (Article: "Life and Letters of Governor Winthrop"), Vol CII, No DCXXI, August 1867 (Edinburgh: William Blackwood & Sons), p 181 * Ambrose: Designated 'Rear Admiral'. * Jewel: Designated a 'Captain'. * Mayflower (a different ship to the Mayflower of the Pilgrims) * Whale * Success * Charles * William and Francis * Hopewell * Trial Six other ships arrived at Massachusetts Bay in 1630, for a total of seventeen ships that year. *Only the fleet leader ships: Arbella, Talbot, Ambrose, Jewel, plus Mayflower, Whale, and Success carried passengers. The others were used to transport freight and livestock. Notable passengers See also Winthrop Fleet Passenger List for complete list of passengers. Nine leading men both applied for the charter for the Massachusetts Bay Colony and came to New England in Winthrop's Fleet. * Mr. John Winthrop, Governor, and three of his sons, including two minors and one adult son, Henry Winthrop * Sir Richard Saltonstall, three sons and two daughters * Mr. Isaac Johnson Esq. and the Lady Arabella his wife and daughter of Thomas Clinton, 3rd Earl of Lincoln * Mr. Charles Fiennes the said Earl's son * Mr. Thomas Dudley (1576-1653), his wife, two sons, and four daughters - 3rd, 7th, 11th, 14th Governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony * Mr. William Coddington (1601-1678), the 1st Colonial Governor of Rhode Island, and his wife * Mr. William Pynchon, and his wife and three daughters * Mr. William Vassall, for whom Vassalboro, Maine was named, and his wife * Mr. John Revell, merchant, who loaned the Plymouth Colony money, and who was chosen assistant to the Massachusetts Bay Colony * Captain Thomas Wiggin, the first Governor of New Hampshire Other passengers of historical significance include (in alphabetical order): * Robert Abell * Stephen Bachiler Founder of Hampton, New Hampshire. * Simon Bradstreet and his wife Anne Bradstreet * Jehu Burr Great Great Grandfather of Aaron Burr * Edward Convers * Thomas Mayhew * Allan Perley * Robert Seeley * Isaac Stearns (1603-1671) * Captain John Underhill * John Wilson, first minister of the Boston church * Captain Edward Johnson (1598–1672) was a leading figure in colonial Massachusetts, and is one of the founders of Woburn, Massachusetts. A complete list of passengers is maintained by The Winthrop Society,Winthrop Society a hereditary organization of descendants of the Winthrop Fleet and later Great Migration ships that arrived before 1634. Winthrop's journal See also *Robert Seeley *Edward Convers Winthrop Fleet surnames (These need to be in incorporated into the page for the specific ship they came on. Otherwise, leave them here?) * Richard Wright (1598-1644) emigrated in 1630 with his daughters and widowed mother (Margaret Wright). From Stepney, Middlesex, England as an agent to Colonel Sir John Humphrey, establishing Humphrey's grant in Saugus (which then included Lynn, Nahant, Saugus, Swampscott, and Marblehead). * Thomas Munt (1610-1664) References * Immigrant Ships of New England * Wikipedia: Winthrop Fleet * BANKS, Charles Edward, The Winthrop Fleet of 1630, originally published: Boston, MA: 1930; reprinted Genealogical Publishing Co.: Baltimore, MD: 1961, etc.; ISBN 0-8063-0020-5 * CURTIN, Dave; The Winthrop Fleet of 1630; http://members.aol.com/dcurtin1/gene/winthrop.htm * DUNN, Richard S.; SAVAGE, James; YEANDLE, Laetitia (eds.); The Journal of John Winthrop, 1630-1649; Harvard University Press; Cambridge, MA: 1996; ISBN 0-674-48425-8 * Talbot * Seely History by Montell Seely and Kathryn Seely (Community Press, 1988) External links *The Winthrop Society is a hereditary organization made up of the descendants those who arrived on the Winthrop Fleet or other Great Migration ships before 1634. *The Winthrop Fleet of 1630 from Olive Tree Genealogy. * Winthrop's Journal 1630-1649 (full text through Google Books) 1630 Winthrop Fleet He was a passenger on the in the Winthrop Fleet in 1630, part of The Great Migration. It was the largest fleet ever assembled to carry Englishmen overseas to a new homeland. It was a well planned and financed expedition comprising eleven ships that carried 700 immigrants from England to the Massachusetts Bay Colony. The group, led by Governor John Winthrop, sailed from April to July of 1630. The fleet landed at Salem. Of the 700 on board, 200 died during the voyage, and 100 returned to England soon after arrival. Some of the 400 remaining settlers stayed in Salem, but many moved on to Boston, Watertown, or other settlements. Category:History of immigration to the United States Category: Passenger ships of the United Kingdom Category: Migrant ships Category: Exploration ships of England Category: English colonization of the Americas Category:History of the Thirteen Colonies Category:History of Massachusetts